Set as the Championship Section test piece for the 2018 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

Handel in the Band was commissioned by Geo-Pierre Moren and Brass Band Treize Etoiles, for performance at the 2013 Swiss National Championships, when it was conducted by Dr. James Gourlay. The first performance was given on 29 January 2017 by the Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band, conducted by James Gourlay at the RNCM Brass Band Festival, Manchester. This revised edition was prepared for the 2017 National Brass Band Championships of The Netherlands, Utrecht, 28th. October 2017.

Handel in the Band is a virtuoso set of symphonic variations on one of Handel’s best known keyboard dances, the Sarabande from his Suite in D minor, HWV 437, based on the Spanish traditional dance La Folia. Kenneth Downie’s work was commissioned by Brass Band Treize Etoiles, for performance at the 2013 Swiss National Brass Band Championships, where it was conducted by James Gourlay. The title is a reference to Percy Grainger’s popular Handel in the Strand, and is indicative of the witty and theatrical nature of the music, which is more playful than conventional competition pieces and as such offers different challenges to brass bands as well as being thoroughly entertaining for audiences. Kenneth Downie is one of the most respected and experienced brass band composers. His music has been widely performed and published throughout the brass band world since the 1960s.